News

- Stories and Reviews, CarTrawler and travel and tech

The Incubator – The Future Is Tech And These Are The Techies

Share:

CarTrawler’s Incubator

It’s been one year since the formation of CarTrawler’s first Incubator team. Spearheaded by our Chief Technology Officer, Bobby Healy, the tech incubator is part of CarTrawler’s commitment to foster and develop a pool of talent from within the organisation. With a lack of these skills being funneled through Ireland’s schools, Bobby was adamant that CarTrawler could overcome this by creating its very own talent.

About The Team

Leading the eighteen-strong group, of which is made up of a mix of school-leavers and technology graduates, is Alex McGonagle. Alex was persuaded to take on the task of leading the Incubator team when Bobby told him to quit his job and work for CarTrawler. He explains how the genesis of the Incubator began.

‘The idea behind it was to give young, inexperienced developers a chance to show off their skills in a supportive environment.’ The recruitment process for this Incubator Team was simple: CarTrawler focused on pursuing people who simply love to program and solve problems. Tech talent might be sparse but CarTrawler doesn’t let that get in the way, Alex says. ‘The big difference here is you learn on the job – there’s not that much training to start with. Anyone new coming in is brought up to speed within a week or two.’

So what exactly is hatching in CarTrawler’s tech Incubator? Are they incubating something or are they the ones being incubated? Well as it turns out it’s a mixture of both. The Incubator’s are learning as they go, getting hands on experience working on an actual application, rather than a hypothetical project.

‘We’re currently working on the Cabforce app.’ Alan Murphy, a technology graduate, explains. ‘Cabforce is an aggregator of taxi companies, similar to the way CarTrawler is an aggregator of car rental services.’

Mobile is the focus point for everyone in the Tech Incubator and the group work tirelessly on a variety of tasks that will accelerate the completion of the Cabforce App. No two days are the same and monotomy of tasks isn’t even on the Incubators’ radars. The dynamics of the team have really cemented their standing as a vibrant and productive environment for young developers.

‘We all work well as a team,’ says Dylan MacNamee, a technology graduate. ‘Sometimes you’d be working on your own on a task, sometimes you’d be working just you and someone else, sometimes you’d be working in a team of four. I’ve been here six months and I’ve learnt a lot in such a short space of time.’ The Incubator’s split their time wisely, engaging in different methods of collaboration on a daily basis. ‘Every single day we have team meetings and brainstorming sessions where people are collaborating together.’

The team dynamic is unique, but this advantage extends beyond the field of work into the social sphere. Alan emphasises how his experience in CarTrawler has been so different to his experiences in other companies. ‘I’ve never worked in a job before where we’ve had so many social events, and so many treats.’ With its own in-house Sports and Social club, CarTrawler has a variety of monthly events like cinema trips, days at the races and nights out.

The Incubator setup is special and it’s a perfect environment for young technology enthusiasts to enhance their skills. When asked what she would do if she was a technology graduate contemplating applying for a job at CarTrawler, Laura Rundle encouraged prospective candidates to just go for it. ‘I’d say to a graduate to just apply. You may aswell, it’s good fun and you learn a lot.’ The Incubator is poised as the perfect programme to foster a nurturing environment that will serve as a platform for continuous development of technology graduates.